Okay, so, work is slow on my works in general, especially the new ones. But with any luck, this may whet your appetite. It's another take on a One Piece crossover, with a Harry/Nico Robin pairing.

Now, I was reluctant to set it during the TWT, as I've done that sort of crossover many, many times before, and I had started one recently in Scathach. However, DZ2, with one of their prompts, got me intrigued in doing such a take. What if Harry ended up in the One Piece world for a few years, met Nico Robin long before she joined Baroque Works, and gained a small modicum of her trust? What would happen if a young Nico Robin ended up on a world where she wasn't a wanted fugitive?

Again, I should point out that there's no guarantee of this becoming a full fic. But it seems promising enough so far.

Before we get onto the chapters proper, I should point out that I am putting serious thought into a Honkai: Star Rail crossover. And it will probably be set during the Penacony arc. The Penacony arc was brilliant, a major step up from both Jarilo-VI and the Xianzhou Luofu arcs in terms of writing, and I found it immensely cathartic smashing the Astral Express into that smug wannabe god's face repeatedly, and yes, it was better than doing that to Cocolia Rand with a giant robot fist (despite Wildfire being one of the best boss battle themes in that game, or of any game).

Honestly, I am considering the pairings, and it boils down to two: Robin (no relation to the One Piece character), and, of course, Firefly. Robin, for all the fact that she's an idol mouthpiece for an evangelistic cult who's drunk the Harmony Kool-Aid, is also a genuine sweetheart who, I feel, has some interesting parts to her character to explore, and I want to have Harry punch Sunday in the face in her defence at least once (along with Aventurine and Dr Ratio too, the smug pricks). On the other hand, Firefly is a more interesting and complex character, but I feel that to do her proper justice, I need to wait until her release as a playable character in the next update, and more of her lore is thus revealed, both in her character backgrounds and any character quests HoYoVerse opts to release at the time.

For Honkai: Star Rail fans, I need to ask, if I do a crossover, should I pair Harry with Robin, or with Firefly?

EDIT: Covenant, a guest reviewer, has asked if Harry ate a Devil Fruit. I considered it while this story was gestating, but decided against it for the very reason they raised in the review. In other words, it would have made the Second Task almost impossible for him. The mysterious black smoke is NOT a Devil Fruit. In fact, it's a 'power' native to the Potterverse...

'TIS NOT A SIN TO BE BORN

CHAPTER 1:

ESCAPE TO DANGER

Wealth. Fame. Power. Gol D Roger, or rather, Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates, attained this and everything else that world had to offer. Fittingly, his last words before he died, executed by the forces of the World Government at Roguetown, sent countless souls to the sea.

"You want my treasure? You can have it. I left everything I gathered in one place, even the One Piece. Now, you just have to search the entire world for it..."

These words lured so many to the seas of the world, especially the perilous Grand Line. All in pursuit of dreams they never dared imagine. Some for wealth, some for glory, some for power, and others for the sheer adventure of it. Yet it has been agreed that Roger's words sparked off tinder that led to the firestorm known as the Great Pirate Era.

Yet few knew that Roger had sparked off this blaze partly because he had learned something of the truth of this world, a truth the World Government would go to great lengths to conceal. While he went to his death with a great smile, you couldn't say the same thing about the inhabitants of Ohara. A scant few years after Roger died, Ohara and its Tree of Knowledge was consumed by flames and explosions, its citizenry demonised as being insurgents who had to be stopped, no matter what the cost.

In truth, it was sheer genocide. The destruction of Ohara wasn't in the interest of saving lives, but keeping the status quo in place. It was a demonstration of the Buster Call, an atrocity used in times when overwhelming force was needed, and any culpability by the Marines or the World Government was buried under lies and denials.

And the sole survivor of Ohara? A child of eight years, a girl who never knew her father, and only knew her mother's embrace, at least since infancy, in said mother's dying moments. A girl who was allowed to leave by the whims of two of the Vice-Admirals of the Marines.

For many years, she was forced to go on the run, learning that the kindness of strangers could conceal treachery, that self-reliance was needed. Harsh lessons for any child to learn, but she was a good student. Her innocence and childhood had died with her island, with her people. Dubbed the 'Demon Child', and falsely accused of destroying Marine ships, all she had were her clothes, her wits, powers from a Devil Fruit, and a keepsake from her mother, one she was loath to part with even for the money she needed for food.

It wasn't just the Devil Fruit that gave her powers, though. She used power that was rarely seen on this world. It was a boon in helping her escape from the law or from ne'er-do-wells.

And then, she met another. A child whose innocence and childhood had been taken from him too soon. A child who was forced to become a fugitive.

This boy did not come from her world. He came from another, thrown here by the casual and petty cruelty of his cousin. He'd been surviving on his wits on the street, yet already, he'd gained a reputation, for when he got cornered…bad things happened. Both had gained unflattering epithets from the authorities. Demon Child…and Black Smoke.

Coincidence brought them together. And their bond was fragile. Both had trust issues, the girl more than the boy. They couldn't grow too close. Their bond, their alliance, was one of convenience, that they had a better chance of surviving and remaining free together than they did apart. But they had a tentative, tenuous camaraderie all the same. Even if they couldn't truly trust each other, they did so more than they could trust anyone else in the world.

But soon, events would conspire to bring them to a place that was both safer and yet more dangerous than that world. A place where both would find answers about their past. A place where they could belong, and yet may not be able to.

This story has so many places to begin. But perhaps the best place to start is on a ship at sea, where the boy and the girl stowed away. They did not know it, but they would be voyaging far, far beyond where they intended to…

The door to the cargo hold opened, and a form sidled into it. A boy, in his mid-teens, with a messy mane of dark hair, and emerald eyes peering out from behind oft-repaired glasses. He had a bag with him, well-worn and used.

In the shadows, a slender form awaited, its posture screaming wariness. "Well?" asked a girl's voice, the volume low and quiet to avoid detection by any wandering crew of the ship.

"Managed to get some supplies from another cargo hold," the boy said. "Enough to keep us going at our destination, as well as to have a bite tonight."

He handed over some dried fruit and meat to the slender form, who emerged from the shadows. A girl with tan-coloured skin about the same age, surprisingly mature-looking for said age, shoulder-length black hair framing beautiful features, icy blue eyes peering down a long, elegant nose. Yet those icy blue eyes held suspicion and pain, too much for a girl her age.

"Thanks," she said. "They didn't see you?"

"No, but they may notice the missing food," the boy said. "It's always a risk while stowing away, but we needed to make sure we had enough for the next leg of our travels. Especially as we had to leave so suddenly."

"Those damned Marines were coming. We couldn't linger," the girl said.

"I know, but…we were running low on food. You were the one who told me about how to be prepared for long journeys."

The girl sighed quietly. "Yes, I know, and unless I felt we needed to, I wouldn't leave lightly. But that man…I think that might have been Vice-Admiral Kuzan. I don't know whether someone spotted me and he was sent after me, or whether he just happened to be in the area, but he's a Logia wielder. I'm good with my Bloom-Bloom Fruit(1), but I've seen what Kuzan can do. And he would have trained himself since then. I don't think your black smoke thing can do anything to him either, let alone what that person said was Haki. Then again, if he was sent after me, they wouldn't have let me escape."

"He let you escape Ohara."

"But he warned me he would be my enemy next time we met," the girl said to the boy. "I don't want to take the risk that he will kill me on the spot, or capture me, and have me sent to Impel Down or Marineford…though given what happened to Ohara, I would not be surprised if I was taken to Mary Geoise in Seastone cuffs for execution. Not by him, but someone above him might take me there."

"I won't let that happen," the boy said decisively.

"What the hell can you do about it?!" hissed the girl angrily. "Yes, you have Haki, but Kuzan has years of experience on both of us!" After a moment's pause, she sighed contritely. "I'm sorry, I…I know you would fight for me to the end…but we need to choose our battles."

"I know, we've been over this. Honestly, there's too many people who would fight at the drop of a hat," the boy said. "But…I'm sick of running. We need somewhere where we can rest, try to relax."

"…There's no place in this world safe enough," the girl said bitterly. "Even the East Blue wouldn't be safe enough. A shame we can't go back to your world. At least we're not infamous there."

In some ways, that could have been seen as tempting the universe, not that the boy and the girl knew that. All that they did know is that, suddenly, they seemed to be enveloped by azure flames, much to their shock. "What the bloody hell?!" the boy yelped.

"It's not burning," the girl murmured, her voice surprisingly calm despite the shock writ large on her features. "Is this witchfire(2)?"

Before they could say anything further, the flames burned to a crescendo, and then, the three vanished, along with their meagre possessions. When the crew realised that some of their food cargo was missing, they searched high and low for the stowaways. But they would find nothing…

Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and burdened with many other epithets, appellations and titles he wanted little part of, was anxious, despite the superficial cheer of this Halloween night. Ever since Harry Potter vanished, pushed down a crevasse in a cave during a school excursion by that loathsome little cousin of his, his demeanour had become even more solemn, at least within. He kept his eyes twinkling, and everyone guessing with seemingly senile utterances, but inwardly, he felt every last year of his age, and more on top.

Only the instruments he had, and the Goblins' own rituals, gave him any hope. Harry Potter was still alive. Albus simply didn't know where or how to find him.

And that was a portent of the troubles to come. Hermione Granger nearly died to a Troll Quirrel had let loose, but thankfully, Ronald Weasley had come to the rescue. There was that mess with the Chamber of Secrets, though Miss Granger had found the diary and handed it to Albus, who, after learning all he could, disposed of it. And then that mess over Sirius Black escaping Azkaban, only for Albus to learn the man was innocent. And, to cap it all off, there was the riot at the Quidditch World Cup, where the rioters were ex-Death Eaters…and someone brazenly cast the Dark Mark.

Something was happening, but what that something was, Albus wasn't sure what it was. It was possible Voldemort was making a return, Severus' Dark Mark tattoo was beginning to darken once more, but Albus was hoping that it would not be the case. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury of dismissing that as an option.

Still, perhaps the Tri-Wizard Tournament would be a welcome distraction. He hoped that Bagman and Crouch had toned down the lethality. Such competition should be difficult, not as potentially deadly as the prior ones were. Peril and hazard were always present in all kinds of sports and competitions, but there were reasonable risks, and then there was tickling the sleeping dragon.

The names had come out of the Goblet of Fire. He hoped young Cedric Diggory would be ready for what the Tournament would throw at him. He also wished the same for Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour. But even as he made his speech to the others, he began to realise something was wrong. It took him too long to realise that the Goblet was still alight. And a fourth slip of paper had come out.

He grabbed it out of the air, and read it, only to pale. Hope and disbelief mingled within him, as well as fear. After all, how could this name be in the Goblet of Fire? Who put it in there, and why?

"…Harry Potter?" he called out into the silent Great Hall, peering out at all the surprised young faces. Surprised, because Harry being missing was public knowledge in Magical Britain, even if the circumstances were not.

There was a ball of blue flame that came from out of the Goblet, which drifted to the floor. Then, in an azure explosion, a pair of forms were suddenly huddled there, dressed in well-worn clothing, carrying bags. Albus noted the wary postures of both of them, and held up a placating hand.

There was a boy and a girl, about 15 if he had to guess. Both had tanned skin, the girl more than the boy. The girl was tall and slender, dark hair framing beautiful features, though her pale blue eyes peered at him suspiciously. In fact, she looked ready to fight, more so than the boy.

But the boy…the skin was more tanned and a little more scarred than it should have been (not counting the one on his forehead), but it was like looking at a young James Potter, but with Lily Evans' eyes. Yet those eyes were looking around too keenly and warily than a boy his age should have been. Another reminder of Albus' failures.

The boy, who could only be Harry Potter, asked, "…Okay, so, where are we?"

"You are in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in Scotland," Albus said.

"School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Pull the other one, it's got…wait…you said Scotland, right? As in Britain, the UK? Earth?"

Odd questions to ask, but given how Harry was missing and not dead, and defying all attempts by Albus to track him, Albus could only nod. The response from Harry was astonishing. A big, broad grin split his face, and he hugged the girl, who froze in his grasp. "You hear that, Robin? We're away from them!"

The girl, the one called Robin, didn't smile, but she seemed to relax just a tad. Albus cleared his throat pointedly. "That's as maybe, but…Mr Potter…it is you, isn't it? Harry Potter?"

"…Yes. How do you know my name?" he asked, immediately suspicious.

"That, I'm afraid, is something of a long story. However, this is something of a bittersweet occasion, Mr Potter," Albus said gravely. "You have come back from…wherever you have been, but it seems that you have been entered by persons unknown into the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

After a moment, Harry nodded. "Okay. But I want to hear this long story, and why I've never heard of wizards and witches on Earth outside of stories…and why you know my name. You don't know who this is, though?"

"Should I?"

"I am Nico Robin," the girl said. "Or Robin Nico, if you put your family name last."

Albus could have sworn he heard Severus gasp. Quietly, yes, but in the otherwise-hushed Great Hall, the noise was like a thunderclap. "I'm afraid I do not know you, Miss Nico, either personally or by reputation. However, please, this way. We need to tell you some things before we tell you this…long story."

The two teenagers exchanged looks, before reluctantly nodding, and heading into the room with the other Champions. But as Robin passed by, Albus heard Severus say something quietly, a name he had not heard before. And yet, when Albus looked at Severus, he saw surprise and even recognition.

And that name, whispered in a quiet, disbelieving tone?

"Olvia…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry has spent several years in the One Piece world, part of that time with pre-Baroque Works Nico Robin. And now they're back on Earth. This won't end well.

If Nico Robin seems OOC here, a bit too hysterical, keep in mind, she's not yet the hardened femme fatale we see in canon yet. She is 28 when the Baroque Works arc comes around, but here, she is 15. She's a teenager (even if she's a genius), and has the scars of being betrayed and being on the run, on top of teenage hormones. In addition, Harry has been her 'partner' for some time, so while she doesn't quite trust him per se, she is able to open up to him in a way she couldn't with the Strawhat Pirates until after the Enies Lobby mess. She doesn't open up all the way, but she can be honest in ways she can't be with most people she meets.

As for Snape's reaction, well, most of the time, I write Snape as the self-centred prick he really is in canon. Here, we will see something not unlike a Severitus fic, with a bit of love-based redemption. But not with Lily. I think you can guess who his late paramour was…and what that means for the rest of the fic. Explanations will come later.

Oh, and I bumped up the ages of the characters by a year.

1. I chose this translation because I don't really like the official translation of 'Flower-Flower Fruit'. 'Bloom' seems to be more descriptive of what it does.

2. Robin means St Elmo's Fire, a phenomenon where glowing spheres or sparking happens around masts and the like on ships. The phenomenon is also seen on airplanes. Witchfire is another term for it, and despite the One Piece world having some stuff in common with our own, I thought I'd use a term with no cultural or historical baggage.